Hundreds take advantage of free skin screenings on ‘Melanoma Monday’

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Doctors are encouraging you to pay more attention to those moles and other unusual spots on your skin. The American Cancer Society estimates this year more than 10,000 patients will die of melanoma, a form of skin cancer.

That leads us to Melanoma Monday, where more than 200 people took advantage of free skin screenings.

That sunkissed skin and golden color is what customers want when leaving Cabana Tanning Company. Instead of lying under the glow of blue lights, manager Darren Huffman, says even with restrictions, going sunless has skyrocketed sales.

“We actually stopped tanning even with parental consent, as long as they were doing sunless they could do it. But we wouldn’t put them in any of our rooms,” said Huffman.

The Kansas Legislature passed a bill that bans tanning salons from serving customers under 18. Advocates say this measure will reduce cancer. Studies show one person dies every hour with Melanoma.

“It is the most common cancer overall in people age 25 to 29 so we definitely are seeing more younger people coming in with skin cancers,” said Dr. Wenfei Xie of the Kansas City Skin & Cancer Center

That’s why Doctors are pushing what they call Melanoma Monday, to help raise awareness and encourage people to perform self-skin exams. The University Of Kansas Cancer Center provided 200 free skin cancer screenings.

Other sunless alternatives, like spray tans and lotions are doctor preferred over tanning beds.

If you have to be in direct sunlight for long periods of time, doctors recommend wearing wife brimmed hats that cover your ears and clothes with UPF which has fibers that are interwoven to block out UV rays. And also, don’t forget the sunscreen.